In Valhalla
by Mango Marbles
Summary: After a brush with death, Noctis starts seeing things others can't and learning that legends may be closer to reality than he ever thought possible. Nearly dying may have been the best thing that happened to him. Former one shot.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I had a bit of writer's block while working on Dearest Sister. So I turned on some music and this is what happened. I hope you enjoy it! P.S. I think my writer's block is gone, so the next chapter should be up in a day or two for Dearest Sister. Check it out!

* * *

Before he blacked out, all he could remember was pain, mind-numbing pain. His memories were a bit hazy. _What happened?_ He asked himself.

Fire was everywhere, smoke spiraled in the air. The sounds of metal scraping against metal filled his mind, screams and moans of the dying laced the already horrid sounds. War with Tenebrae had finally reached its peak. Only it wasn't in his favor, the battle had taken place in his home, in his castle.

He tried to remember what caused him so much pain. Just like any other battle, he had been holding up very well. _What happened next?_ He urged his brain to try and remember.

A large group of Tenebrae's soldiers had come to face him. In his mind, he could see their armor, their fear. Surely, they had seen what he did to the others that confronted him, so why did they try again?

_Stella!_ The princess of Tenebrae, she had set up an ambush. He had fought her one-on-one in the past, though their powers were similar, Noctis had the upper hand and she would usually flee. She used the soldiers to distract him while she impaled him with as many blades as she pleased.

* * *

_Maybe someone will find me and save me._ Noctis told himself. Ignis, Prompto, Gladiolus, and his dad were bound to look for him at some point, right?

_Maybe I'll die here…_ It wouldn't be so bad in his opinion. He had never wanted to inherit his kingdom anyway. Besides, at the moment, he felt no pain.

Suddenly, he found himself aware of the sound of waves lapping at a beach. He felt the waves pushing him ever so slightly, farther and farther onto warm sand. With a groan, Noctis opened his eyes.

_Where am I?_ Noctis stood up on the sand and walked away from the water. All he saw was tall buildings. As he looked closer, he saw that the buildings were gray, but some had strange designs in a light green or purple color. Some of the buildings were reduced to rubble, leaving Noctis to only imagine what they looked like.

Since there was no one else on the beach, he decided to venture into the midst of the tall buildings. Even there, the air was thick with the smell of salt water. _I must be dead._ He thought, as he felt no pain, yet he was certain Stella had gotten to him with her blades. When he scanned over his body, there wasn't even a trace of a battle.

If he was dead, was this the Unseen realm? _No,_ he remembered. _There would be more people there, there's no one here. This must be Valhalla._

But that would be ridiculous, he had been told all his life that Valhalla was killed with the goddess, Etro.

* * *

"Two travelers had both wanted to save the people whom were precious to them. They faced a man named Caius, within him, the Heart of Chaos beat. By killing Caius, they killed Etro and doomed everyone. The chaos of Valhalla swept through the world," Noctis' mother told him as he laid sick in bed. The only way to calm a feverish, little Noctis was with a story, so the queen sat beside her son and told him her favorite legend.

"Shouldn't Valhalla still be encasing the world?" asked a skeptical Noctis.

"Humans are strong. They overcame the difficulties of Valhalla and brought balance back to the world. That's why Valhalla and the living world are now one and the same."

"What about the goddess' body?"

"It became one with the chaos. Her knight's body is said to have been crystallized on Etro's throne. The knight woke up many decades after Chaos' descent and presumably died when her lifespan was over. She was only human, after all," finished the queen. She kissed her son's forehead and cooed to him in a soft, gentle voice. "Time to sleep."

* * *

Looking back at the memory with fondness, Noctis began to realize why he didn't want to die. He'd no longer see his mother's warm smiles, hear Prompto and Gladiolus bicker, listen to Ignis' lessons, or receive advice from his father.

In the distance, a clock tolled, alerting the empty city to the coming of a new hour. Looking around for the clock, Noctis spotted it at the top of one of the tallest buildings. _The clock is pointing at thirteen? I don't remember the clocks at home having thirteen on them…_

Deciding it was the best option, Noctis had gone to the building with the clock above it. Inside, he had climbed up hundreds of stairs in a spiral formation. At the top, he saw a woman in silver armor overlooking the city from a balcony. The sash of feathers over her left leg swayed in the wind along with her pink locks of hair. To Noctis, she looked like a Valkyrie.

Without even turning, she moved for Noctis to come closer to her. Although shocked, Noctis obliged. After all, he felt a strange aura of power emanating from the woman.

When he was beside her, she turned and looked Noctis straight in the eyes. She was beautiful. Her skin was flawless and her face held a fierceness that Noctis had seen in his soldiers before. But it was her eyes that drew the most attention from Noctis. They were a cold blue, very fitting for the grayness of the city, in Noctis' opinion. However, they were filled with sadness so deep that Noctis felt that all of the sadness he's felt in his life would hardly dent the amount she felt.

"Who-who are you?" Noctis stammered out.

The woman's face softened. "Lightning," she said.

Although her voice was not what he expected, Noctis couldn't help but want to hear it again. "Where is this place?"

"Valhalla."

_Can she only speak in one word sentences?_

"Isn't Valhalla the living world now?"

"No."

"But Caius was killed so the goddess was too. Because of that, Valhalla was unleashed into the living world. Since humans were strong enough to recover from it, they were able to rebuild society."

"Only some of that is correct," Lightning said slowly. Noctis was proud he got more than one word at a time out of her.

Lightning looked out into the desolate city again. "Humans did not recover from it, they were saved from it. The goddess did die, but she passed her powers onto a successor. Her successor retained balance to the living world and Unseen Realm."

"Who was her successor?"

"Me."

Noctis immediately felt as if he should be bowing to this woman, but shock kept him frozen in place.

"Cat got your tongue?" asked Lightning in a mocking voice.

"No!" Noctis fumbled over his words. "It's just that… well, that's pretty amazing, Lightning." He was surprised that even though she looked so sad, she still mocked him. _I guess she has a sense of humor. _

"Call me Light," she turned and faced him again. "Anyway, you shouldn't have died yet." Pointing to a strange object on the ground below the balcony, she gave Noctis instructions. "That's a gate. It will send you back to your time. All you have to do is jump from here and into it."

Noctis stood at the edge of the balcony and gazed at the gate. If he entered, he would be back with his family and friends. He would become ruler of his kingdom eventually. But he hated the war. He never wanted to fight anyone. Again and again, he was forced to take lives.

But he could stay here, couldn't he? He would work on restoring happiness to Light. Then, her eyes wouldn't have that look in them, that look that made Noctis want to hug her for an hour and then adopt four kittens just to see her smile.

"What are you waiting for?" Light asked in a genuinely curious tone.

Stepping back from the balcony's edge, Noctis smiled at the goddess' confused expression. He took a deep breath.

"I think… I'd rather stay here."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: There was some interest for my one shot from long ago to be continued. I've been working on what I want to happen in the continued version and actually writing it. If there's enough interest, I will write this story to the end. I will try to keep up on Madness as well, but I have lost a lot of motivation for that story to this one. Enjoy, and don't forget to review with your thoughts and opinion on fully continuing _In Valhalla_.

I don't own Final Fantasy.

* * *

"I think... I'd rather stay here," Noctis said. He had a small smile on his face. Surely, Light wouldn't mind the company. Wouldn't she enjoy it? She'd probably been alone for so long that having someone with her would bring her some happiness.

Noctis stood a bit nervously. Light still had not responded and her face gave no evidence of how she was currently feeling. _She'll be happy_, Noctis thought to himself. Afterall, he would be happy to have company after so long. How long had she been alone anyway? Maybe she does have company somewhere on this island in some form.

"No," Light said.

Strange how such a simple word can crush Noctis' feelings so quickly. "Why?" he managed to get out.

"It's not your future," Light said. She didn't look angry to Noctis, but he couldn't read her feelings easily either. She did, however, have a look that reminded Noctis of one his mother had when he would say he'll bring peace. A small, pitiful smile and eyes full of sadness that know his dreams are just that: dreams.

"You still have life," Light continued. Then, with a glare bordering angry, she said, "Don't throw it away."

Noctis nodded reluctantly. "Your heart still beats. Your mother weeps over your sleeping form. Your father hides his sorrow well, being strong for his wife. Your friends deny that you won't wake," Light added.

"Does your heart still beat?" Noctis asked.

Light held that small, sad smile on her face. "I am without a body here, but Valhalla doesn't require one."

"Here? Does that mean your body is elsewhere?"

Light sighed and looked out at the city for a moment before returning her gaze to Noctis. "You have a few moments before you must return. I had to separate with my body when the goddess gave me her powers. It became an anchor for Valhalla and the Living World. Without doing so, Chaos would have wiped out the humans. I used my new power to funnel the Chaos to Valhalla, where it belongs, using the Heart of Chaos."

"Caius had the Heart of Chaos, but when he died, it died with him?" Noctis meant to say a statement, but he wasn't sure how much of the stories he knew were real or fake anymore.

"Caius died a moment before the goddess, and Yeul before him. Both the Heart of Chaos and Etro's Eyes were returned to her. When she gave me her powers, I inherited both of those traits as well."

"Is your body still trapped in the Living World?"

Light sighed. "Yes. I am neither living nor dead. Trapped in stasis while I fulfill my duties." Light lead Noctis to the balcony's rail. "Those include sending you back."

"I have to go now?" Noctis wanted just a few more minutes. He wanted more knowledge about Light. "Will I meet you again?" He started to feel an encompassing desperation. It was as though a black hole had been created in him and he was about to be sucked into an absolute void.

The few inches of height that Noctis had on Light seemed inconsequencial with the full intensity of her gaze on him. Such power emanating from her made him feel small, helpless.

Light grabbed Noctis' arm and gave him a shove over the balcony immediately after saying "You will. There's no time to explain it, but it's necessary for you to stay alive for me to be able to finish some business with the Living World. After this brush with death, you will not be the same. That's why you must live."

Noctis didn't have time to absorb what Light was saying as he was falling to the gate. A blinding light came from the gate that forced his eyes closed. Oddly, the feeling of falling stopped and Noctis felt suspended, like he was floating on water.

Slowly the pain began to seep into him, the pain he had expected, yet never felt, when he woke in Valhalla. Everything hurt. He felt so weak, so tired. Other than one of his hands, he felt decently cold as well.

_"After this brush with death, you will not be the same."_

What would be different? Would he be severely disabled from the damage of the swords he had been impaled with?

Groaning, he opened his eyes ever so slightly. He had to blink many times to clear his vision and get used to the light. _Light._

"Noctis? Sweetheart, you're awake!" said a voice to Noctis' right on the verge of sobbing. Or midst, he wasn't sure at this point.

_Was it all a dream?_

Straining to turn his head, Noctis saw his mother sitting beside him, his hand clasped firmly between two of hers and pressed against her cheek. "I was so scared!" she cried, allowing her tears to freely stream down her face.

"I'll go get the doctor, hold on just a moment. I'll be right back, I promise," his mother said, dashing out of the room.

Noctis had a moment to observe his surroundings. White room. White curtains. White bed. White gown. IV drips connected to his arms. A mask over his face forcing him to breath. He was definitely in the castle's hospital ward. With war always looming and the constant threat to the royal family, not having a fully staffed and operational hospital ward at the castle would have been the same as signing a death certificate.

Especially in Noctis' case at the moment.

The doctor rushed in with Noctis' mother on his heels. Most of his words didn't permeate the thick fog of his mind. He did catch grievous wounds, miracle, extensive therapy, and recovery.

The doctor seemed to have noticed Noctis' blank stare. He did a small check up of his injuries and started to ask simple questions to Noctis: one blink for yes, two for no.

"Do you remember what happened?"

**Blink.**

"Do you feel pain?"

**Blink.**

"Do you recognize this woman?" the doctor motioned to Noctis' mother.

**Blink.**_ How could I forget my own mother?_

Noctis' mother looked very relieved at his answer. He could tell she was trying her best to wait until the doctor was gone to smother his hand with love. Seeing as it's all she could do without causing him immense pain in his condition.

The doctor seemed satisfied enough and turned to his mother, "Queen Azalea," he started. "It looks to me that our beloved Prince Noctis will be able to recover well enough. His injuries have healed a miraculous amount and, with therapy, he should be able to make a full recovery. The Kingdom of Lucis' heir will survive."

The queen was an emotional mess. "T-tell Regis the news," she managed to get out.

"Of course, my lady," the doctor said and, with a quick bow, he was out of the room.

Before Noctis fell back asleep, he could remember hearing his dad's gravelly voice and his mom's sweet voice in a chorus of words, some to him, some to each other. He felt safe listening to them. It reminded him of when he was a sick child, being surrounded by his parents and their soothing words.

When he woke again, it was dark in his room. His mother slept on a chair beside him, though her upper body rested on his bed. He didn't mind. Across from him, the window was open. The hospital ward was very hard to get to, being on the backside of the castle, so it was figured that it would be okay for windows to be placed. Then, the injured could look out into the beautiful castle garden, which was extremely well-guarded. During the night, the stars shined high above the garden.

The entire scene was peaceful to Noctis. He liked the thought that maybe, somewhere under this night sky, Light's body actually sat in stasis. Maybe she actually existed. Maybe, if she did, he could even find her body and wake her from stasis somehow. Then, they really could stay together. The thoughts that she was more than the dream of a dying man filled Noctis with a warmth he hadn't felt before. As he wondered where she might be, Noctis saw streaks of light go across the sky. At first he though they were shooting stars, but they changed colors to soft purple, the orange and red of a sunset, and a variety of other colors that were easy on the eyes. They all headed the same direction, but they would swerve on the path, like they were children playing a game with each other.

What were they, if not shooting stars? The only answer Noctis could think of was from legends his story loving mother told him. Even after they faded from his sight, Noctis knew that any answer other than the legend was wrong. With this new knowledge, Noctis knew one other thing to be certain as well.

Valhalla wasn't just a dream.


End file.
